2009 Yamaha V-Star 1300 First Ride Review

I didn’t take this, and that is not my uncle. 

Truth be told, this is not a new bike, and maybe not the most exciting bike, but for my uncle this is his awesome new bike. Until last week, old man Rubinson rode a black/olive-green 2005 V-Star 1100 which was his first bike since the dinosaurs roamed the earth, aka the 80’s.

The “olive” was a nice bike for him. Being that he is 5’9″ and roughly 200lbs, the V-Star physically fit him well and was an overall good bike to get him back into riding. It wasn’t crazy powerful, had a extremely comfortable riding position, and a host of accessories for him to choose from. However, as any rider knows, there is always something nicer out there so he recently decided that he wanted to upgrade to something that fit his needs a little better.

What he was essentially looking for was a bike that could mimic a Harley Davidson Street Glide without costing anywhere near $20,000. Sure, he could have bought one used, but the year-range of H-D he could afford isn’t exactly known for their reliability he didn’t feel like having a tinker-toy.  This essentially left him going back to metric cruisers. Through talking with myself and doing his own research, he even found a great range of bikes that fit that requirement right around the size of the Street Glide, but then I found what would become the perfect bike.

The black & blue/purple 2009 V-Star 1300 wasn’t a model he was initially considering mainly due to the 1300cc motor. Even I was trying to find something in the 1600-2000cc range to best mimic the Street Glide, but I pulled up this V-Star for him to look at for a couple key reasons.

1. Old man wanted hard-saddlebags. After having a nice pair of soft-bags on the 1100, he realized that in order to maximize storage, durability, and security, hard-bags were the way to go. This model came with them out of the factory and look great on the bike, not all accessory saddles can say the same.
2. Old man doesn’t want to tinker. The 1100 V-Star ran like a Civic, and by that I mean nothing ever went wrong. While metric cruisers in general are very reliable,           V-Stars are always at the top of those click-bait articles about reliability. With the 1300 having fuel-injection, liquid cooling, and belt-drive, these bike is meant to run for years without inconveniencing the owner. Granted, the 1100 was shaft-driven and even more reliable, we realized that belts were more common on the larger “CC” motors.
3. Old man isn’t exactly a big man. Probably the most important reason I sent this to him to check out was actually the size. The 1300 has the same seat height, floor board spacing, and almost the same weight of the older 1100. This means that het is getting just about every upgrade he wants without riding a monster. This consideration doesn’t mean much for someone who is six feet tall and can easily flat-foot a bagger, but that gets sketchier and sketchier as your height drops. During the ride home, he even said how it feels great since it just feels like the super version of the old V-Star, which he really enjoyed riding.

Obviously, old man Rubinwrinkles liked the bike and it is now in our garage as the jealous old V-Star get ready to go up for sale, but what do I think of it? In short, very nice light-tourer that doesn’t quick fit my riding style.

The first thing is that I noticed was that it does pull decently hard. At roughly 630lbs, the glass-smooth V-Twin will pull down the road with ease and you can’t comfortably pop it into 5th gear until over 60 mph. This tells me that you can comfortably sit at 75+mph on the highway all day long. Also, the seating position is very standard with you legs not stretched out at all. Now, I personally like a little stretch but my uncle does not, this position fits him great since his legs aren’t that long so I get it. The same can be said for the stock handlebar. It tucks back towards the rider with the grips angled in as well. Your arms, like your legs, are not extended at all which adds to the everyday comfort of the V-Star.

The styling is nice too. This is not trying to copy an H-D but has very nice lines that don’t force a certain style on you. It is actually a tad on the under-stated side which for people like my uncle, is preferable. Going along with the styling, because this particular bike only had 5,000 miles, it really does look and feel brand new. This is a bike that he can ride until that brand new Street Glide becomes a reality. There are a few smaller upgraders he wants to do but the two major ones will be a lighting system for night riding, and a batwing fairing. Once he gets these upgrades bolted on, this unassuming Yamaha will be perfect for him.

However, there is a downside when it came to bringing this bike home. It’s a big one really. I now have to itch to buy a new bike. Why are the motoring gods so cruel!

 

 

 

 

Motorcycles & Music; the Perfect Match

If you think about it, there are certain things that will forever go hand-and-hand. Chicken noodle soup and being sick, a margarita and being on the beach, or giving a dog a bath and ending up wetter than the dog. You get the point. For me, listening to music and riding is high on the list.

Yesterday, the world learned that Tom Petty had passed away. While some may not have been a fan of his style of classic rock, Petty was always a favorite of mine. This especially rang true while going on any sort of drive. After I got my motorcycle license, I bought a SENA 10s for my helmet and that completely changed my riding experience. I could now take my music on the rode with me and truely dive into the emotion that a good ride brings out. While I can name a wide range of artists that I turn to, Petty’s range of amazing tracks always came back.

While this year saw the loss of other artists that I held in high regard, Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington mainly, losing Petty hit me differently. I remember seeing him in concert in 2010 at the Wachovia Center with Buddy Guy as his opener. That show may still be the best concert experience of my life. Listening to his discography also was one of my first steps into the world of classic rock. From there, I learned about other greats like The Eagles, Skynyrd, and even Fleetwood Mac to a certain extent. If it were not for listening to his music, I don’t know if I would have found the rest of these artists as quickly. His impact on my music taste is greater than I ever realized.

So as I left work at 5:30PM, the sky was clear and the sun was at a perfect height in the sky to bathe my entire ride home. The temperature was around 70 degrees and there was a slight breeze rumbling over my helmet. I dive into hyperbole because the weather was both perfect, and yet somehow sorrowful. The emotions around me were even greater due to the shooting in Las Vegas still on the forefront on my mind. As I went to put Petty’s music on in memory of his loss, I originally wanted to select “Last Dance With Mary Jane” since it’s in my top-three favorites of his. However, I paused before selecting it.

For some reason, I just hit shuffle. Normally this is a risky proposition since if the wrong song was selected, the mood would not feel right. Luckily, the perfect song I didn’t even think of came on. The track is called “Saving Grace” and I honestly cannot remember the last time I listened to it. It was off one of his solo albums Highway Companion  and while his classic hits are what we all think of, his solo work is still fantastic. Any who, as the track starts, I knew I had to leave it on and began my 10 minute ride home. It is an odd feeling when your eye’s begin to water and you cannot figure out why. It is not like I personally knew him, or was clinically obsessed with Petty, I just had a connection to his music. The entire feeling of that song lends itself to this type of slow cruise through the sunset that I was currently on. I felt like I was in a scene from a music video where the song trails off as my exhaust note rumbles down the sun-painted backroad home. It struck me all at once, and a tear almost trickled behind my visor.

I don’t know if the weight of that moment would have struck me if I was listening to that track in the office or driving my car. I remember a similar feeling when I was riding after getting my current job. I was riding around, happy as a clam, listening to Marshmello. I know I just went from a classic rock great to an EDM artist but roll with me. Marsh’s tracks always make me feel happy and get me pumped up, hence why he always pops up on my workout playlist. Well I was riding around Tabernacle, in the farmland, elated to finally have a good job, listening to my happy music. That experience is still clearly visible in my memory. So here I am, on the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, feeling that same connection riding into the great wide open. Motorcycles and music, they really are a perfect match.

RIP Tom Petty, you will be greatly missed.

 

 

My Bike Didn’t Belong, I Didn’t Care.

 

To be fair, I should have expected this before pulling up at the start point. The Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride as been around since 2012 and was founded in Sydney, Australia. The idea behind it was to challenge the stereotype that motorcycle riders are either hooligans on supersport bikes or Hell’s Angels on Harley’s. So every year, men around the world don their dapper attire, saddle up, and raise money for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and suicide awareness. Okay, background over.

I wasn’t actually sure if I was going to participate in this ride until the night before. My uncle was at a wedding with our two other friends who wanted to go, and let’s just say they were not sure if waking up at 6:00AM would be possible. Well it was and at 7:30AM we lifted our kickstands to head to the meet and as always, the excitement for going on a big ride had completely taken over. 

As we pulled up to Gorshin Trading Post & Supplies in Haddonfield, I realized that this ride is going to be different then most. The street in front of the shop was full of classic and European bikes. This was especially challenging for me to not have a trouser accident considering I just revisited in my love for Ducati’s in a previous post…here. 

As I park Selene (my 2005 Suzuki M50 Black) besides a mid-70’s Honda 750 and a tasty modified Ducati 821, I get the feeling I brought her to the wrong ball. My uncle and his friend are feeling even more sheepish with their near-matching V-Star 1100’s. Also, I felt bad for drooling over so many bikes with poor Selene sitting right right there. It was just like the meme with the guy walking down the street with his girl while looking at someone else. Every Thruxton I walked by resulted in a ever-longing glance back towards my beauty in black. I swear I said sorry a few times. 

Realistically it didn’t matter, we were all out to support a great cause and what bike you rode in on isn’t as important. 

The ride itself was pretty great. The weather was beautiful, the planned route kept us on b-roads, and we had an awesome mid-way stop at Nixon’s General Store in Tabernacle for one of the better breakfast sandwiches I’ve had in a long time. Now since I wasn’t vlogging the ride, I enjoyed being at the front of the pack. I was leading this convoy unique bikes and somehow it was even better that I was on a more normal ride. A little over an hour later, we reached what would be the chocolate covered cherry on my amazing cake; New Jersey Motorsports Park. 

We were allowed to do five parade laps around the circuit and I could not be more excited. Even though my 805cc cruiser was not meant for this, I was going to get a taste of sporty riding on two-wheels. As my group lined up, I made sure I got in front of the elderly gentleman on a Honda 360T and right behind a newer Yamaha R1 and Triumph Speed Triple so I could have my fun. 

As we entered the track and preformed the sighting lap, I was an odd mix of nervous and comfortable. While I was using the wrong bike and had never been on a track before, all of the tips and lessons I had learned from riding, and other Motovloggers, were starting to build together and it was not long before I was tipping my 500lb sweetie deep into the corners. I was finding the brake balance, proper lean angles, and fastest gears through turns. While the sport bikes in front of me were barely goosing it, I was able to ring out the potential of my baby muscle cruiser. It was like a perfect date.

Our front group was actually going so…briskly, that we caught up to the rear safety car guarding a vintage trike pootling around the bends. As we exited the track, every rider was acting like a child who had just met Spongebob for the first time. We were giddy, sweaty, and in pure bliss. What did stink a bit was I had to leave the track right after the laps and drive back to my neck of the woods for the Eagles game. However, I did have a long ride to really think about the experience I just had. 

First, I had come to the determination that at some point I want to try track riding again, on an appropriate bike of course. The sensation of being able to fully use every aspect of your machine is unlike any other. Second, while Selene certainly wasn’t as vintage or “cool” as some of the other bikes on the ride, she still had me grinning ear to ear the entire time. Not only that, a few guys had even said that they were impressed that she was my first. A little ego boost never hurt. The last point was rather a surprise though. I truly have no intention of “upgrading” Selene. While she doesn’t have the biggest engine or the best performance, I am going to get a second bike of a different variety rather then just get another cruiser. 

For the everyday riding mixed with longish hauls, Selene is fantastic. Light, good on gas ,very reliable, sounds fantastic, oh and she looks mean as hell. I realized just how much I have fallen in love with my cheap first bike and I really can’t imagine her leaving me any time soon. I am not going to be foolish and say I will keep her until my last breath, but I really hope I do somehow. Even if the frame rots away and I cannot afford to keep the motor running, I almost want to take her fuel tank and mount it somewhere as dedication to long long life (I hope) she has had. 

The point of that misty-eyed rant was to show just how much my bike has become a part of me. I know that most other riders, besides Vespa people maybe, can relate.

To wrap this up, I will be putting a short video of the ride up eventually but I need to get my editing down a little more before it goes public. Hopefully that doesn’t take too long!

So I Wet My Pants on Monday

I swear I was having this much fun.

To be fair, I didn’t lose control of my bladder, but I did have to ride home in the rain for the first time.

When it comes to my love of being on two wheels, there are few things that will make me question taking a ride. One is the constant fear of someone Snapchatting their latest in-car concert and running into me, and the other, until Monday, was getting caught in the rain.

I knew from the moment I started riding that it would eventually happen. While my M50 is not the only form of transportation I have, I still ride as much as possible no matter what the reason. I accepted that getting rained on will happen, and I just needed to not make a big deal about it.

Weeks ago, I had rode to the gym at night since my LOVELY weather app was positive it would not rain until my bedtime…adults have bedtime too. Well the app was wrong and I received a very frantic phone call from my uncle while working out saying he was ready to arrange a convoy of trailers to drive my bike ten minutes home in the shower. I, however, was not ready to call the National Guard and waited for the rain to stop before driving home.

I did not die and had learned a great deal about wet-weather riding from that quick jaunt home. I felt comfortable, the fear was gone, and also had a sense of truly joining the club from that. Little did I know I was wrong, so wrong.

This past Monday, I checked the same app while eating breakfast and noticed that while it was going to be a cloudy day, I should still be able to ride to work. Luckily for me, my commute is ten minutes from home which made it an even easier decision. Later that day I was at my desk, and I noticed that darker clouds are starting to form. It wasn’t too long before the drizzle started, which then turned to a light shower, which then turned to full on rain.

As 5:30 inched closer and closer, I started to realize that I was going to have to actually ride in the rain. A little fear came back, and all my confidence I gained just weeks before was slowly fading away. It was time to leave work and since I didn’t have Jeremy Clarkson’s brave pills, I took a deep breath and geared up. This is how the ride home went:

1. (Sitting on the bike before leaving work)
2. 1. Sweet baby Jesus I don’t want to low-side Selene (my bikes name, sue me). If it is going to happen to me, it is bound to happen today.
   2. What if some dingleberry rear ends me while checking the weather?
   3. Just go low and slow Mike.
   4. DEAR GOD I AM THE WETTEST PERSON IN THE WORLD ALREADY
3. (Leaving the office parking lot)
4. 1. Okay, we can do this, just ride that clutch and rear brake.
   2. Wow, that car behind me is actually keeping their distance, cheers to you buddy.
   3. Actually this is kinda fun, why am I laughing?
   4. SO WET, GLASSES STEAMING, LOSING VISION, MUST OPEN VISOR….RAIN IN THE EYEEEEEEEEEEE.
5. (At the light before entering my neighborhood)
6. 1. I still can’t stop laughing, am I going crazy or was this fun?
   2. So glad there wasn’t a cop around to see me lane split around that Prius, nobody can crash into my poo-shute!
   3. Pause internal thoughts since the guy next to me rides and is talking to me about his experience getting caught in the rain. Bikelife frieeeeeeeends!
   4. It’s official, my lower body could only be more wet if was standing in a pool.
   5. I’M BIKER RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK….why’d I shout that into my helmet.
7. (Pulling into garage)
8. 1. I’m not dead!
   2. Nobody (except that Prius) drove like a wienie near me!
   3. Somehow that was fun!
   4. I feel like an actual biker now.

I wish I could say this was exaggerated but I actually talk like this, especially when nobody is listening. The moral of the story is that even though I am still a new rider with only a few thousand miles under my gloves, I managed to get through one of the most challenging things we face as riders. It was the most nerve-racking and satisfying moment I have yet to have as a rider, followed by my first large group riding experience, dear lord side-by-side riding.

If you are a newer rider, don’t think you are unable to ride through certain situations simply because you are new. Obviously know your limits and don’t go riding into a thunderstorm because you want to challenge yourself. What I mean is don’t let something like a surprise rain shower or crappy road surface freak you out! It’s not like these type of riding techniques can be taught in the classroom, you have to experience them first-hand in order to learn. So get a little wet, phrasing, and ride on. It might be the most satisfying experience you have yet to have on two wheels.

The Ducati Conundrum

I need this printed and hung in my house…

It’s funny how certain names illicit a special feeling of perfection inside of you. When a PA,NJ, and DE native hears Wawa, they declare it is the best coffee and on-the-go eating around. When chefs hear the word black truffle, their mouths water and immediately decide which kidney to give up in order to buy a supply of them. For many riders, that special name is Ducati.

While many riders who own ‘real bikes’ will scream that Harley-Davidson belongs here, I politely but firmly disagree. I currently have cruiser, and while I agree that Harley represents the classic appeal of motorcycles, they are by no means perfect and have a poser/dentist feeling about them. Don’t think I hate Harley’s though. I have an odd obsession with the 2017 Fat Boy S, but I don’t dream about it.

Ducati’s, on the other hand, appeal to the range of emotions that Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s hit for me. On one hand you have the idea that what you are riding has state-of-the-art performance technology infused into every bolt and washer, much like a Ferrari. Obviously, you will never ride your Supersport S or Monster 100% on the limit enough to expose all of this. What is funny is that knowing you have electronically adjustable suspension, race-derived TFT display’s, or fantastically nerdy driving modes somehow makes riding for lunch so much better.

I feel like that last point leans a little into something that I call the Lamborghini Factor. If you think about how you will ride your dream Ducati, I will put money down that most of the riding will not be on a track, in a race suit, on the Isle of Man. It’s use will be casual. So logically, spending your money on one of these thoroughbreds is silly. You should ideally end up with something closer to a CBR1000rr since everyday, it is better to use. Much in the same way that if you are lucky enough to afford buying a supercar to use everyday, logically, you’ll end up with a GT-R or an R8. They are well made, look nice, and still have all the performance you think you need. However, once you see the insane bodywork, hear that Lamborghini V-10 or V-12 fire up, and press that military-style ignition button, nothing else matters. You know you need that in your garage. It makes the everyday ride that much more exciting.

As an addicted motovlogger watcher, I love watching SNEWJ and his new Panigale. Congratulations to him buying his dream bike! The main reason I like watching his videos is just because of how his bike looks and sounds…that is until it broke down. Even though I think my next bike will be a Yamaha FZ-09 or Kawasaki Z900, I can’t help but look at the new Ducati Supersport S and think, “yes, this will offer me the same usability and comfort, I just need to save a little more.”

I am tricking myself into thinking it’s a good bike for what I want simply because they look so damn good and I want that Akraprovic exhaust note more then my next meal. That’s why Ducati’s are so special, they truly get under you skin, even if you don’t own one yet.